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MINKA
“Are you okay?” Archer runs the pad of his thumb along my jaw and swipes away the sticky residue of someone else’s lipstick. His eyes search mine, and his heart thrums faster, pressed against my chest while he crowds me against the brick wall of the Copeland Memorial Hospital.
Thankfully, he places us where no one else can see. Where no one will disturb us.
“Minka?” His green gaze flickers across mine. “You were within feet of the killer.”
I pull my bottom lip between my teeth and nod. Not because I was so near a killer. But because our lives are about to explode, and he won’t have seen it coming. “Not the first time in my life,” I rasp out. “I’m fine.”
“How’s your knee?” He looks down between us, though my swelling kneecap is hidden behind pants. “I saw you come down on it hard for Miranda. What does that mean for you?” Terror pulses behind his glittering eyes. Archer is a man used to being in control. And here I am, taking it all away and throwing unknowns at him. “Does it mean an extra infusion?”
I wish I could say no. I wish I could be like any normal person and shake off a scraped leg. But that’s not my reality.
“I’ll probably need to go inside the hospital for an extra infusion,” I admit. “And they’ll wrap it to keep swelling down.”
“Now?” He pulls back and reaches for my hand. “Let’s go inside now?”
“In a sec,” I counter. Closing my eyes, I lean my head back against the brick wall and simply breathe. “I’ll go in a second, but I just want—”
“Privacy,” Archer guesses. “A minute where people aren’t touching you.”
Pretty much. And so much more. “Where’s Fletcher?”
“Interviewing each person who was in attendance today. He’s got a couple of uniforms helping him canvass. After that, he’ll work on securing the footage. The fact is, the killer jabbing Miranda is likely on camera. So he’s making sure evidence isn’t deleted or aired before we get to it.”
“Fletch is a very intuitive police officer.” Opening my eyes, I study Arch’s jaw. The stubble coating his face, and the way his lips are always full and thick, because he’s always nibbling on them. “He knows who did it?”
Silence envelops us for a moment. Thoughts pass through Archer’s gaze, and his hands grow firmer on my hip. On my hand. Until finally, he nods. “Yeah. We figure we know who our guy is. His name isn’t on the same list of graduating students as his victims, but the rest fits.”
“What are you gonna do about it?” On my left, Tim passes us by with Aubree at his side. He doesn’t touch her. He doesn’t even speak. But he’s her guard, and he’s smart enough to know Arch and I are hidden for our own privacy. “Archer?”
“We’re gonna put the evidence together and make sure we’ve got it neat and tidy, then we’ll pull him in.”
“Can you… can you tell me who you believe the killer is?” My voice crackles, not from fear, but from exhaustion. From anxiety. From worrying about my team. And worrying about my relationship. As fragile as it is, I still wish I was worthy of us making it work. “Are you allowed to tell me?”
“Cop to civilian?” He leans in closer and rests his lips on my forehead. “I’m not allowed.”
“What about Archer to Minka?” I try again. “What about then?”
“Archer to Minka,” he breathes out and slides his hands along my ribs, “because keeping the truth from you puts you at risk. And that risk, to me, is more important than my job.” His lips remain on my skin and his breath bathes my hair.
“Watch out for O’Dey,” he says on an exhale. “He likes you, so you’re probably the safest of us all, but if he catches wind that things are unraveling and he’s about to be caught, he might turn on you.” Pulling back, Arch searches my eyes. “If you see him and we haven’t pulled him in yet, you act clueless, you excuse yourself to go to the bathroom, and you call me. Do you understand? Don’t try and be a hero, Minka. Don’t try to counsel him around to being a better person.”
“Why do you assu—”
He raises a single, sharp brow that brings my words to a stop. “You thought having a chat with Tribble would make him turn himself in. What did you think you would accomplish by doing that?”
“I don’t know! Keeping everyone alive, probably.”
“And in the end, you put yourself in danger and killed the guy anyway.” Leaning in once more, he presses a kiss to my lips and sighs. “I’m gonna walk you in so you can get your medication. But then I have to leave.”
“To search for O’Dey?”
He nods. “To finish this before he gets another one. But I’m not done fighting for us.” Pulling back, he searches my expression. “We had a fight, Minka. We’re not seeing level on a lot of stuff. But as soon as this is done, I’m coming for you.”
A nervous laugh escapes my throat and makes my cheeks warm. “Sounds like a threat.”
“You can take it any way you want, but keep your phone line open and your ass inside this hospital until I come back.” Dropping one last kiss on the corner of my lips, he pulls back and slides his hand around mine to tug me away from the wall. “You saved Miranda London’s life.”
